TPM - shocking - "Were Voting Machines Actually Breached? DHS Would Rather Not Know"

[NRaleighLiberal]

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/muckraker/dhs-doesnt-want-to-know-about-vote-hacks

By SAM THIELMAN Published JUNE 30, 2017 6:00 AM

Pressure to examine voting machines used in the 2016 election grows daily as evidence builds that Russian hacking attacks were broader and deeper than previously known. And the Department of Homeland Security has a simple response:

No.

DHS officials from former secretary Jeh Johnson to acting Director of Cyber Division Samuel Liles may be adamant that machines were not affected, but the agency has not in fact opened up a single voting machine since November to check.

Asked about the decision, a DHS official told TPM: “In a September 2016 Intelligence Assessment, DHS and our partners determined that there was no indication that adversaries were planning cyber activity that would change the outcome of the coming US election.”

According to the most recent reports, 39 states were targeted by Russian hackers, and DHS has cited–without providing details–domestic attacks in its own reports as well.

snip = very important - read it all at the link. This should have us all completely irate.

[global1]

1. For DHS To Acknowledge That The Voting Machines Were Tampered With In Any Way....

- if it proved out to be true - opens up a can of worms that nobody in D.C. is prepared to deal with. As such - it's best that - we'd rather not know.

[get the red out]

3. That is how they are thinking for sure

But it is absolutely wrong for "we the people" to not know the truth. I think they most likely already know.

[NRaleighLiberal]

4. If it is happening, but not acknowledged or dealt with, then our democracy is a sham

[Zoonart]

8. They don't wan to reveal just how many

of our government agencies are asleep at the wheel.

[Mr. Evil]

16. Or how many of our elections could possibly be fraudulent.

[Zoonart]

20. Yep!

[LiberalLovinLug]

30. Yes. How many others were affected?

Not just in federal elections every 4 years. Why do Republicans hold so many seats both small and large across the nation to the point of a chokehold?

And federally, yes Obama won twice, but how much bigger a win did he actually get?, how many more House and Senate seats that could have been his support to get more done?

[Generic Brad]

36. I suspect the majority are fraudulent

How else could a nationally hated and unpopular party control every level of government and the majority of state houses?

[dawg]

2. Didn't we hear about tons of Democratic ballots in Detroit that had no vote for President?

I remember hearing about that. The voters marked their ballots for Democrats in down ticket races, but did not cast a vote for President.

Or has that since been debunked?

I know I didn't imagine hearing it.

[femmedem]

10. Here's an article on the 70,000 Detroit ballots which didn't count any votes for president.

Very, very disturbing. http://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/national-party-news/311099-skeptical-70000-black-voters-abstained-from

[TomVilmer]

45. More like wishful thinking than reality

That article has a lot of views, but not so many facts. An example is "I find it hard to believe that nationwide, 70,000 black Americans voted for Stein, Trump and Gary Johnson combined.", since Trump got around 8 percent of the black votes.

[Javaman]

5. and this is how democracy ends, not with a bang but a whimper. nt

[NRaleighLiberal]

6. ended.

most likely - something needs to happen!

[Lindsay]

7. "Nothing to see here - move along."

Democracy was strangled in its sleep.

[Moostache]

23. More like Chief putting McMurphy out of his misery...

This goes back as far as Ohio 2004 and don't for one second think that today and then are completely unrelated...

[librechik]

24. 2000.

[Tom Rinaldo]

9. They will never allow it to be proven if prior elections were hacked and stolen...

What we must force them to admit is that future elections could be. Not even whether it is likely that they will be, just that they plausibly could be.

That must be the focus. It is obviously true. And that obviously must be unacceptable to anyone who proclaims a belief in our democracy.

They claim the past is the past and impossible to unwind, so a lack of proof of prior stolen elections is where they want matters left. Well the future is still ours to decide. Not protecting future elections is like not locking a bank vault because there is no clear evidence that any known bank robber has ever considered robbing that particular vault.

[NRaleighLiberal]

11. The language that you are using is important - it implies that there are still many who "can't go

there" because it puts their world in a place they thought impossible. Stolen elections? In the USA?

This is some scary shit - because it totally rocks many people's paradigms.

Except for those of us who tend to be cynics and/or skeptics.

[Tom Rinaldo]

14. Yeah. I HATE having to be "pragmatic" about prior stolen elections

Clearly many, for a variety of reasons, are "afraid to go there". Clearly we should go there, and uncover the truth wherever it may lead. But too many fear rocking the boat, and the instability that may cause, more than they fear prior illegitimate elections. And obviously those who may have benefited from any election rigging will fight those inquiries tooth and nail. Those types fight safeguarding future elections also of course, but there is a better chance of over riding their obstruction in regards to future elections - where the default standard for action isn't a need for evidence that outcomes may have already been altered. And where no one worries about a constitutional crisis over a discredited outcome to a specific election.

When reviewing our systems for future elections the default standard is simply, are there significant vulnerabilities that at some point someone could exploit? The answer to that is Hell Yes! Everyone knows that all computerized systems can be hacked. Everyone knows about identity theft, and ransomware, and DNC emails getting hacked etc. When if come to safeguarding future elections the burden of proof shifts from having to prove that something malicious already actually occurred to simply having to prove that something malicious could be attempted.

With a finding of the latter is becomes criminally negligent not to initiate iron clad safeguards. Whether that be all hand counted paper ballots as the Netherlands recently moved to, or at minimum a mandatory random 5% audit of paper trails for every election regardless of the reported margin of victory.

[Snarkoleptic]

12. "War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength;"

n/t

[NRaleighLiberal]

13. and "We Are Fucked"

[Moostache]

25. "We've always been at war with Eastasia" (n/t)

[Bernardo de La Paz]

15. Not just voting machines, but look at computers used to aggregate & tabulate counts. . . nt

[diva77]

42. yes! anything that contains computer hardware or software

DREs, optiscans, central tabulators, etc.

[LaydeeBug]

17. THANK YOU FOR THIS. bookmarked, knr. nt

[BigmanPigman]

18. The White house won't dare suggest anything or admit to anything related to the election fraud.

He's obsessed with the validity if his election win and wants to waste more time and money trying to find votes given to Hillary and not to him in certain states. Even though it has to do with Russia and the US he takes it as a personal attack on his BIGLY WIN. The Russian Interference in the election process as a whole is an ongoing national security issue that has to be addressed now but he doesn't see it that way. It's all about HIM specifically. He's a paranoid narcissist.

[Botany]

19. This has been going on for sometime now

See Scott Walker, see Brownback in Kansas, see the 2015 KY
Governor's race .... see OH 2004

[TheFrenchRazor]

37. it goes back to 2000. nt

[citizen blues]

21. Then it is time to disband DHS

Since they are categorically refusing to address an issue of national security, they are violating their charter. Therefore, they no longer serve a purpose.

Smaller government! Yay! 😂 {sarcasm}

[byronius]

22. 'If they can successfully steal US elections, doesn't that make them the stronger culture?'

is what's at the bottom of this horrible charade. Steven Colbert said something similar after 2004, and it still resonates with me.

Yeah, brutal gangsterism is strength. Sure. That ends well. Uh-huh.

[FakeNoose]

26. It's time to abolish the Dept. of Homeland Security

This is nothing but a political sham, and it's been so almost from the beginning. They're certainly not securing our Homeland, I can tell you that. They're making our lives miserable with the TSA and air travel restrictions. Now we can see that their heads are in the sand as far as a grave threat from Russian meddling in our elections.

Since this department was started by George Dubya Bush, it's been used by the GOP for political advantage over Democrats. We're no more "secure" now than before DHS, but our liberties and privacy have been severely curtailed.

[onecaliberal]

27. We are so fucked. I need to get my children the duck out of this place

[Horse with no Name]

28. I think the fear is that the GOP has a stranglehold on our government

and the elections that got them there were fraudulent.

We do NOT have the government we have voted for...isn't that the pure essence and purpose of a coup?

[Botany]

31. Rep. King from 2004

[diva77]

43. Yes, and elections officials have been trained to intimidate citizens who challenge results

There was a discrepancy between the optiscan count and the hand count and the elections official refused, with intimidation tactics, to have the small precinct (approx. 300 ballots) hand count the results to ensure accuracy

[Botany]

48. In many cases the republicans who run the precincts see it as their job ...

.... to keep republicans in power.

[lark]

29. Believe you me, my blood pressure is spiking after reading this drivel.

OMG, we are totally infested with traitors at all levels of the government, from the very top on down to everyone he's nominated for office, maybe with a few exceptions, but I'm beginning to doubt even that. I do not want to live in the Putin/Trump Federation.

[Amaryllis]

32. Check out this recent senate intel testimony by computer scientist; then try to say they were not:

Check out this senate intel testimony:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10029249235
and this:
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article157039299.html

[NRaleighLiberal]

33. giving this a kick

[Duppers]

34. K & R

Shocking indeed.

The biggest problem is of course, that the hacking will continue.

[colsohlibgal]

35. Sad

The vast majority of democrats would rather not know either, so they must be fine with being screwed election after election. In a just fair election Gore won in 2000 and Kerry in 2004... and Kerry in reality won comfortably, I am as sure as I can be about that.

[TheFrenchRazor]

38. correct; if nothing was done in 2000 or 2004, nothing will be done now. we are permanently screwed.

[ProudLib72]

39. This needs to be forwarded to every congress person

We need to TELL THEM to stand up to the DHS and tRump's stupid election integrity commission. Get some answers right now so we can start making the mid-terms safe.

[UCmeNdc]

40. Something is very wrong here.

[diva77]

41. And the state SOS's are complicit in certifying this hackable garbage known as "voting machines"

meaning they certify voting machines - DREs, optiscans, etc. as well as central tabulators, etc.

If you can make it to Indianapolis July 7th, you can let the SOS's know your level of dissatisfaction with how our elections are run or you can write to your state SOS -- roster is here: http://www.nass.org/index.php/about-nass/alt-roster-2016/

Twice a year, National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) i.e. the highest level of voting officials in each of the 50 states of the USA convene at posh corporate sponsored conferences where they give exclusive access to voting machine vendors, data mining corporations with huge military contracts, and other corporate affiliates.

The Summer Conference July 7-10, 2017 Indianapolis, will hold its exclusive posh party at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway at 5:15pm, July 7th.

http://www.nass.org

With continued failure of transparency in our elections and recent testimony regarding how easy it is to spread malicious code to computerized voting machines, it is time to hold these officials accountable for denying election integrity. They are in violation of their own NASS constitution:

NASS ARTICLE III - STATEMENT OF ETHICS

The role of Secretary of State is a noble calling, and carries a high ethical mandate and a conscientious duty to our democracy. Accordingly, Association members commit to the following:
1. Adhering to the highest standards of excellence that will nurture and maintain the public trust;
2. Placing loyalty to state and federal constitutions, the law, and ethical principles above private or political gain; and
3. For those Secretaries of State who serve as their state's chief elections official, practicing fair and unbiased election administration that recognizes each eligible citizen's right to cast his or her vote, and for that vote to be counted with the highest regard to constitutional foundations.

--------------------
If you want to fight for election integrity, let the Secretaries of State of the 50 states know that we need HAND COUNTED PAPER BALLOTS at the PRECINCT LEVEL with PUBLIC OVERSIGHT on ELECTION DAY

[dlk]

44. The Presidential Election Was Stolen

Enough evidence has trickled out to confirm that the 2016 presidential election was stolen, and with Republicans' latest national efforts to collect every state's voter records, it is abundantly clear they plan to continue stealing elections. This is how our democracy ends.

[dalton99a]

46. Kick.

[bluestarone]

47. somehow i don't know how

there needs to be a statewide push to go back to paper ballots We can't change the past anyhow so,we need to concentrate on the future only! Any suggestions as to how we do this??